Saturday, February 21, 2015

Like Uber but for feudalism

Sidney Torres IV, the New Orleans businessman who made headlines in
recent months for his television commercials blasting Mayor Mitch
Landrieu over French Quarter safety, said he is putting up his own money
to staff and equip the patrol for at least the next three months.

"I'm very confident in this," Torres said by phone Friday (Feb. 20).
"If it works, and I have a good sense it will, funding is not going to
be a problem."

The pilot program calls for three off-duty NOPD officers to patrol
the Quarter in all-terrain vehicles equipped with lights and sirens. But
unlike a similar plan to place off-duty NOPD officers on patrol along
Bourbon Street, Torres' plan includes a smart-phone application designed
to connect citizens and visitors of the Quarter directly to those
patrols.

Those who download the free app, which Torres said is in its final
stages of development, would be able to report in a few taps of their
phone screen a crime being committed -- or suspicious activity -- to the
nearest patrol officer. A photograph could also be submitted through
the app, Torres said.

All reports would also go to the NOPD 8th District, which includes the French Quarter.